Counselling &
Learning Support
North Vancouver Campus
Student Success
Workshops
Exam Preparation and Memory Strategies
BR 267
604.984.1744
www.capilanou.ca/services
Prepared by:
Alison Parry, Learning Specialist
2
Counselling & Learning Support
Exam Preparation & Memory Strategies
At the post-secondary level, exam preparation begins from the very first day of classes and involves
attending classes regularly, keeping up with assignments, reviewing lecture notes and reading material
on a regular basis, and asking when information is unclear. Students who engage in these study habits
are able to spend the time prior to an exam, reviewing information they have already studied and
learned. Students who do little studying throughout the term end up cramming, which according to
Linda Wong (2003), “is an attempt to learn large amounts of information in a short period of time” (p.
155). Due to the fact that it takes time to process and learn new information well, cramming usually
results in poor test performance.
In addition to studying regularly throughout the term, the following test-preparation strategies will help
you avoid cramming, prepare for exams, and increase your test performance:
Preparing to Study
Find Out About the Test
Several weeks before the exam, in order to figure out how much time you need to study and how you
might approach your review, find out as much about the exam as possible. The type of information that
is helpful to know is:
What topics will be covered
What type of questions will be asked (multiple-choice, true/false, short-answer, essay, etc.)
How many of each type of question will be asked and how are the marks weighted
What percentage of your final grade is the exam worth
Organize your Study Material
Before you start to review, organize your material by the major topics covered in the course. These
topics are usually indicated in your course outline. For each topic, identify and group together the class
notes, textbook readings and any other material that needs to be reviewed related to the topic. This
becomes a meaningful cluster of inter-related information that should be learned and placed in memory
as a unit.
Make a Study Plan
Once you know the type and quantity of material that will be covered in the exam, you then need to
develop a study plan to ensure that you have time to review all the necessary material before the test.
The amount of time you need to conduct your final review will depend on the amount of material you
have to cover, the difficulty level of the material, how much the exam is worth, and how many other
exams you have to study for at the same time. Once you have decided how much time you need, add a
J:\Data\Departmental\Counselling\HANDOUTS\Study Skills\Updated\Exam Preparation and Memory Strategies ver2.docx
January 2010
3
couple of extra days as a cushion and always remember to leave the last day to go over your review
material one last time.
To develop a study plan, follow the steps below:
1. Make a list of all the topics you have to cover.
2. For each topic make a list of and organize all the materials and resources you will need to
conduct your review.
3. For each topic, set specific dates and times that you will review the material. Write these down
in the form of a checklist or use a weekly study schedule to record when and what you will
review.
4. After each study session check off what you completed so you can see your progress.
5. Adjust the plan as necessary.
6. Plan a small reward for the end of each study session and a big reward for after you have
written the test.
Exam Review Strategies
Make Summary Notes
Summary notes are a special set of notes that you create specifically to study for tests. As you review
your material some of the material will seem familiar and will require little review while other material
will seem difficult and will require more in depth study. Material that you need to review more should
be placed into a set of summary notes. These notes should then be reviewed on a regular basis until the
material becomes familiar. Summary notes should only include the most important points and can be
taken in a variety of formats. Summary notes can include:
A list of important points
An outline of main points and supporting points
A category/comparison chart
Flash Cards
Diagrams
Mind maps or Hierarchies
Time Lines
Practice Answering Possible Test Questions
Answering practice test questions is a powerful test preparation strategy, as you start to think about
what might be asked and get to practice pulling together answers in a non-stressful situation. This
reduces your anxiety at test-time as some of the questions may be familiar. Answering practice test
questions also gives you valuable feedback as to which concepts and ideas you know well and which
requires more review. The following resources can be used to practice answering test questions:
Textbooks. Modern textbooks often include review quizzes at the end of each chapter or
important concept.
J:\Data\Departmental\Counselling\HANDOUTS\Study Skills\Updated\Exam Preparation and Memory Strategies ver2.docx
January 2010
4
Study Guides. Many textbooks have an accompanying study guide which contains chapter
summaries and quizzes. These study guides come as books, are on a CD-Rom, or are available
on a website specified in the textbook.
Past quizzes or exams taken in the course and past assignments. Keep your old tests and
assignments through out the term and then redo them as a way of reviewing for mid-terms and
finals.
Copies of past mid-terms and finals (if available). Although the questions will not be the same
on the current exam, old exams give you an idea of the nature of the questions asked and what
topics are important.
In addition to using already available resources for answering practice test questions, you can also make
up your own tests by predicting your own test questions. You can predict your own test questions in the
following ways:
Turn textbook headings and sub-headings into questions
Create questions suggested by your lecture notes
Form a study group and take turns asking and answering possible test questions from the course
material
Participate in Review Sessions and/or Create a Study Group
Always attend the exam review class for each course. This is an important part of the preparation
process, as the review class provides you with valuable insight into what will be on the exam, gives you a
chance to ask last minute questions about confusing material, and allows you to hear the questions of
other students, questions you may not have thought to ask yourself.
In addition to attending the review class, another excellent review strategy is to conduct your own
review sessions by getting together with other students in the course and creating a study group. Study
groups can meet throughout the term or can be created right before an exam to review important
concepts. Although there are many different ways study groups can be used for exam review purposes,
Linda Wong (2003) in her test Essential Study Skills suggests the following three review approaches:
Each group member is responsible for summarizing a specific chapter and conducting a
discussion on the material.
Each group member prepares a specific number of practice test questions plus the answers and
brings them to the group.
Each group member brings a specific study tool to the group to help facilitate the review. These
tools may be question/answer index cards, terminology index cards, teaching a concept on the
board, diagrams, summary notes, etc.
Utilize Memory Techniques and Strategies
Whether you are making summary notes, answering practice test questions, or participating in a study
group you should keep in mind and apply the following memory techniques to help yourself remember
and retain the material you are studying:
J:\Data\Departmental\Counselling\HANDOUTS\Study Skills\Updated\Exam Preparation and Memory Strategies ver2.docx
January 2010
5
Study actively and
often
Make sure you
understand the
material
Use association
Make up examples
Use your visual
memory
Use color
Group items into
categories
Chunk material
into small units
Be selective
Space your study
Use key words
Add numbers
Create rhymes &
sayings
Use acronyms
Use acrostics
Make it all about
YOU
You are more likely to remember material if you write it down or say it out-loud
rather than if you merely read it or hear it. It also takes time for information to be
processed in memory, so you will need to go over what you are learning several
times in order to retain it.
If you understand what you’re trying to learn, you’ll find that you can remember it
better and for a longer period of time.
When learning something new, try to relate it to something similar that you are
already familiar with i.e. Italy looks like a boot. Also link together in your mind,
concepts & examples, text & pictures, questions & answers, etc.
When learning general principles, try to make up examples of your own. In addition
to helping you remember the principle better, this will also help you check your
understanding.
This can involve looking at the diagrams provided, creating a mental image or
drawing a graph or diagram of the material you are trying to remember.
Use color to stimulate your visual memory. Color code diagrams, use different
colour highlighters or pens, and put difficult material on brightly coloured paper.
If you have to learn a long list of things, try to group similar items together.
To aid memory further, attach a label to each category or grouping.
When we try to learn too much material at once we overload short-term memory.
To avoid this, break what you are learning down into smaller chunks, learn one
chunk at a time, and then put the chunks back together to re-create the whole.
Most of the time you will not be able to or be required to memorize every detail.
Concentrate on general concepts and a few examples to go with each. Pay particular
attention to information the teacher has indicated as important.
You are more likely to remember if you study over several days, weeks,
and months, than if you cram
For each concept or idea you are learning, select several main words that when
recalled trigger other related information, facts, and details
When learning a list of items, enumerate the list as this will help you in recalling all
of the items.
“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
“Alfred Nobel had quite a fright when he discovered dynamite.”
Create your own little sayings to remember difficult facts and details.
An acronym is a catchword you make using the first letter of the keywords in a list of
items or words. For example, you could make the acronym STAB to help you
remember the four voices in a quartet: alto, bass, tenor, and soprano.
An acrostic is often used when an acronym cannot be made. An acrostic is a catch
phrase or silly sentence you make using words that start with the same letters as the
keywords on your list. For example, you could make the phrase “Please Excuse My
Dear Aunt Sally” to remember the order of mathematical operations: Parentheses,
Exponents, Multiplication, Division, addition, and Subtraction.
Relate what you are learning to yourself in any way you can. Think of a personal
example, imagine yourself doing what you are learning about, etc.
J:\Data\Departmental\Counselling\HANDOUTS\Study Skills\Updated\Exam Preparation and Memory Strategies ver2.docx
January 2010
6
As you can see, preparing for an exam takes planning and hard work. However, if you follow these
guidelines and suggestions, you should find that your study time will pay off and that your exam results
will improve. As with all study skills you will need to adjust your exam review approach and strategies to
the subject and exam at hand, as well as to your own individual learning style.
For more information or help with preparing for exams and memory, please make an
appointment with the Learning Specialist at the North Vancouver Campus by calling
604.984.1744.
Adapted from: Wong L. (2003). Essential Study Skills: Chapter 6. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
J:\Data\Departmental\Counselling\HANDOUTS\Study Skills\Updated\Exam Preparation and Memory Strategies ver2.docx
January 2010